Man who ‘wanted to humiliate’ teenage girls using social media photographs is jailed

A Co Antrim man was jailed in Belfast on Thursday for a catalogue of offences against nine teenage girls.

Thomas Macauley met the teens on social media and persuaded them to sent him pictures in various states of undress.

The 21-year old then used these images to either blackmail or harass the girls - and he also sent indecent images to the parents of two of the teens.

Macauley, whose address is the subject of a reporting restriction, appeared at Belfast Crown Court via a videolink from Maghaberry.

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Also attending the hearing - either in person or via the videolink - were his young victims.

He was handed a sentence of three years and four months by Judge Patricia Smyth, who branded the case as “shocking”.

The Judge divided the sentence between 16 months in prison followed by two years on licence, saying the extended Probation element was necessary to address Macauley’s issues.

Macauley pleaded guilty to a total of 34 offences which included both possessing and distributing indecent images of a child and engaging in sexual activity with a child.

He also admitted charges of blackmail, harassment and making threats to kill, as well as common assault.

All the offences were committed over a three-month period between August and November 2018 when Macauley was 17.

Crown barrister Rick Weir QC said Macauley’s “modus operandi seems to have been either to make contact using one of the social media platforms and establish some sort of relationship or rapport with these young ladies, and in some cases he met them personally”.

“He would then ask that they sent him photographs of themselves in various states of undress, including nudity.

“Having obtained that from them, he went on to threaten that if they didn’t do X,Y and Z he would publish them or sent them to their parents or friends.”

Revealing that Macauley did carry out his threat to send the images on several occasions, Mr Weir said the period of offending “wasn’t just a flash in the pan” but was “sustained.”

The prosecutor also spoke of the vulnerability of the teenage girls and the fear instilled in them by Macauley’s threats.

Also raised by the Crown was the hurt and distress caused to the parents of those who were sent images of their young daughters “in a compromised situation”.

Macauley’s defence raised the issue of his young age at the time of offending, and pointed out he had not been considered a dangerous offender by Probation.

Judge Smyth said she had considered defence reports on Macauley, including a Probation Report and one compiled by an educational psychologist.

The reports revealed Macauley had a difficult homelife, was bullied by peers due to a physical condition and has mental health issues.

Regarding the offending, Macauley stated he “felt angry” after being rejected by girls and “wanted to humiliate them so they would feel as bad as I did”.

He also admitting using social media to meet young girls, and to gaining pleasure from their domination and suffering.

The Judge said she also read the “distressing and disturbing” Victim Impact Statements, adding: “The anxiety and stress that each of these young victims has suffered is impossible to calculate.

“The fear that private images will be shared with others is a reality that haunts many.”

As she sentenced Macauley, Judge Smyth said the extended period on licence would allow Macauley to undertake Probation’s specialised assessment and therapeutic work.

Macauley was also made the subject of a five-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.